acme
    n 1: the highest level or degree attainable; the highest stage
         of development; "his landscapes were deemed the acme of
         beauty"; "the artist's gifts are at their acme"; "at the
         height of her career"; "the peak of perfection"; "summer
         was at its peak"; "...catapulted Einstein to the pinnacle
         of fame"; "the summit of his ambition"; "so many highest
         superlatives achieved by man"; "at the top of his
         profession" [syn: acme, height, elevation, peak,
         pinnacle, summit, superlative, meridian, tiptop,
         top]
    2: the highest point (of something); "at the peak of the
       pyramid" [syn: vertex, peak, apex, acme]

acme \ac"me\ ([a^]k"m[-e]), n. [Gr. 'akmh` point, top.]
   1. The top or highest point; the culmination.
      [1913 Webster]

            The very acme and pitch of life for epic poetry.
                                                  --Pope.
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            The moment when a certain power reaches the acme of
            its supremacy.                        --I. Taylor.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Med.) The crisis or height of a disease. AS
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Mature age; full bloom of life. --B. Jonson.
      [1913 Webster]

ACME
       A Company that Makes Everything (slang)
       

Acme
 n.

    [from Greek akme highest point of perfection or achievement] The canonical
    supplier of bizarre, elaborate, and non-functional gadgetry ? where Rube
    Goldberg and Heath Robinson (two cartoonists who specialized in elaborate
    contraptions) shop. The name has been humorously expanded as A (or
    American) Company Making Everything. (In fact, Acme was a real brand sold
    from Sears Roebuck catalogs in the early 1900s.) Describing some X as an ?
    Acme X? either means ?This is insanely great?, or, more likely, ?This
    looks insanely great on paper, but in practice it's really easy to shoot
    yourself in the foot with it.? Compare pistol.

    This term, specially cherished by American hackers and explained here for
    the benefit of our overseas brethren, comes from the Warner Brothers'
    series of ?Road-runner? cartoons. In these cartoons, the famished Wile E.
    Coyote was forever attempting to catch up with, trap, and eat the
    Road-runner. His attempts usually involved one or more high-technology Rube
    Goldberg devices ? rocket jetpacks, catapults, magnetic traps, high-powered
    slingshots, etc. These were usually delivered in large wooden crates
    labeled prominently with the Acme name ? which, probably not by
    coincidence, was the trade name of a peg bar system for superimposing
    animation cels used by cartoonists since forever. Acme devices invariably
    malfunctioned in improbable and violent ways.

ACME

    /ak'mee/ 1. A Company that Makes Everything.
   The canonical imaginary business.  Possibly also derived
   from the word "acme" meaning "highest point".

   2. A program for MS-DOS.

   [What does it do?]

   (1994-11-08)

Acme, WA -- U.S. Census Designated Place in Washington
   Population (2000):    263
   Housing Units (2000): 88
   Land area (2000):     9.805551 sq. miles (25.396260 sq. km)
   Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
   Total area (2000):    9.805551 sq. miles (25.396260 sq. km)
   FIPS code:            00275
   Located within:       Washington (WA), FIPS 53
   Location:             48.715402 N, 122.209954 W
   ZIP Codes (1990):     98220
   Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   Headwords:
    Acme, WA
    Acme